IN MY KITCHEN, SPRING 2026

Posted in In My Kitchen by sallybr

In My Kitchen posts are hosted by Sherry, from Sherry’s Pickings. Please visit her site to see what everybody else is sharing this month. I join four times each year, on the first day of January, April, July and October. If you are a food blogger, consider taking part of this fun event. It is a chance to share those little things you bought or received as gifts and that make your life in the kitchen easier.

The picture above was made by my friend and cookie magician, Haniela as a virtual Bday gift to yours truly. I just adore it… March is a busy moth for the Bewitching Kitchen: both Star and I celebrate our Birthdays just a couple of weeks apart, but there is also my sister Nyrma, and our grandkids Greenlee and Leo. March people are great people, even if I say so myself. Don’t you agree? 🙂 I knew you would…

Starting with a gift…

From The Haydens, a surprise gift that arrived in the mail, in fact they also sent one to Phil with “King of the Grill”, so that pretty much settle our placement in the Kingdom! THANK YOU!

In our kitchen…

I first learned about this lower-carb, high protein pasta in a food blog. Much to my surprise, doing a search online I realized that our Wal-Mart store carries several shapes. Of all the brands I tried, this is the closest to the real thing. Shiratake noodles have zero carbs and almost no calories to speak of, but they will not leave you happy and satisfied. Brami pasta will. It is made from lupini beans and it also contains wheat, but much less than a regular type.

In our kitchen…

A super flavorful oil that I got after a recommendation from Martin, winner of Great American Baking Show a couple of years ago. He used it in a bread, which is fantastic and I urge you to try. Super simple to make, by the way. Check his recipe here.

And this is my delicious version of his bread….

In our kitchen….

Speaking of bread, I can’t tell you how much we love this little baby! I have tried all sorts of knives that promise to deliver as far as slicing a hearty loaf of sourdough goes, but nothing compares to this. I highly recommend you get one. Ordering info here.

You can see it in action here, and it is sooooo cool!

In our kitchen…

I eat A LOT of eggs, love to have a fried egg with sourdough for lunch. Do you “need” a silicone ring? Probably not, but isn’t that super cute? I like this one because it allows me to put a lid on the pan, which helps create steam and properly cook the egg white. I hate a slimy white, don’t you? You will find the rings here.

In our kitchen…

These are my favorite sprinkles for the time being… They are not hard, and have a fantastic shine. Great on cupcakes! I found them at Hobby Lobby, and they were on sale, lucky me!

In our kitchen…

I just love a stamped cookie, because it makes decorating so easy… The square ones are part of a set with several different adorable shapes. Check them out here. The second one I got at a store in etsy, but it is not available anymore. I have a very soft spot for anything mandala.

In our kitchen….

Still on the subject of stamped cookies, I gave myself this new one as a Birthday present. You can find it on KitchenVixen’s store at etsy. I adore it!

In our kitchen….

I’ve been seriously considering expanding my horizons into the chocolate world. I bought this little mold which has a very interesting feature: it is holographic! So the surface of the chocolate bar will have a special color effect. Apparently the effect lasts for quite a few uses, and even when it fades it still makes nice looking bars. I just got them last week, now I will go through my normal inertia phase, before attempting something new. In any case, stay tuned. Sooner or later I’ll put this baby to use!

Not quite in our kitchen, but close enough…

I need to show you one of the many hidden qualities of my hubby… This little tricycle belonged to him as a very young boy, maybe 6 years old. He carefully refurbished, weeks of work, finding small pieces online (mostly on eBay). replaced the wheels, which was quite a tricky task. Isn’t that amazing? So many details! SORRY, LADIES, HE’S TAKEN!

In our kitchen….

How could I possibly resist getting this blanket? Star seems a little puzzled, but as you shall see later in this post, she and the Royal brother ended up giving this purchase two paws up!

Speaking of the pups, they’ve been anxiously waiting
to tell you all about their adventures
since last time we met…

They’ve been indulging in one of their favorite activities, which is watching TV with Dad. It does not really matter what is on the big screen, although Prince seems to be quite fond of golf and anything with active quadrupeds. Horses and bears are high on the adrenaline-inducing list.

But the usual routine is…. once dinner and dishes are done, it is time for our humans to watch TV laying on their yoga mats with us. Big party, made even more special with a blanket that celebrates the best dog breed in the known universe: The Black Dotted Heroes!

Once we are all settled and ready, we each get a special chewy for the evening. We await that moment with great anticipation, and if Dad takes his time to deliver the goodies, here is the look he gets…

But, overall life has been pretty awesome… Star practices her power naps on a regular basis….

Prince shows quite a bit more class and dignity as he indulges in that activity, like the Royal being he is….

Star does not care, Discombobulated is often a middle name she carries with pride, much to her brother’s amusement!

But let’s face it, even Royals can act a little quirky at times…

Anyhoo, life is for the most part pretty awesome in the Kingdom,
but sometimes things do not go quite the way the pups expect…

And when they rough play around the Kingdom, things can get messy…

For more on that tricky subject, watch the video below…

But who can get mad at these two adorable beings for more than a few seconds? Particularly when they promised to never ever again mess up with the rug….

And when the apologies come with kisses, now that is even better!

That is all for now, folks, we are headed to warmer temperatures, which means more time outside, more walks off-leash, more fun and games!

SEE YOU IN JULY!

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, Spring 2025

TWO YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2024

THREE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, Spring 2023

FOUR YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2022

FIVE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2021

SIX YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2020

SEVEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2019

EIGHT YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2018

NINE YEARS AGO: First Monday Favorite

TEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2016

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Spring has Sprung with Suzanne Goin

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Chai Brownies

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Pomegranate-Molasses Glazed Carrots

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Peach Glaze

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Spring Rolls on a Spring Day

28Mar2026

SALMON BOWL WITH BROWN RICE AND MANGO

Posted in Air-Frying, Rice and Grains, Seafood by sallybr

This goes into our rotation for sure! The recipe for the salmon has been in my blog for a while and it is indeed something I cook often. But today I share one awesome way to enjoy it. Do not omit the mango pieces, and I actually strongly advise you to get frozen fruit. I am so tired of buying fresh mangoes just to be disappointed at the texture or taste. As long as you are careful about how you de-frost it, it will work perfectly (see the comments).

SALMON BOWL WITH BROWN RICE AND MANGO
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

1 recipe for salmon bites (click here)
1 + 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
avocado slices
cucumber slices, salted and rinsed
fresh mango pieces
1/8 cup olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare a quick dressing with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Amounts are flexible. You want enough to coat the fruit and veggies.

Place the cooked brown rice, still warm, in the center of a serving bowl, using a small bowl to shape it. Add the fruit and veggies around, drizzling the dressing all over them, and arrange the salmon pieces together as shown in the picture.

Serve right away.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: To use frozen mango, remove the amount you need from the package and lay over a paper towel to defrost. Do it about 30 minutes before your meal. By the time you plate it, it will be close to room temperature, still a bit cold in the center, but the texture won’t suffer. This was a delicious meal, very easy to put together, I highly recommend you give it a try. If you don’t have an air-frier, you can grill the salmon or roast it in the oven.

ONE YEAR AGO: A Cotton Candy Duet

TWO YEARS AGO: Helen Fletcher’s Pineapple Kolache

THREE YEARS AGO: Blood Orange and Cranberry Mini-Cakes

FOUR YEARS AGO: Simnel Cupcakes

FIVE YEARS AGO: Oat and Sesame Seed Sourdough

SIX YEARS AGO: Moroccan Turkey Pie with Olive Oil Crust

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Another Twisted Sister of the Shepherd’s Pie

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Cashew Chicken, My Way

NINE YEARS AGO: Two Deliciously Simple Salads

TEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2016

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Spring has Sprung with Suzanne Goin

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Chai Brownies

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Pomegranate-Molasses Glazed Carrots

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Peach Glaze

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Spring Rolls on a Spring Day

25Mar2026

STAR IS THREE YEARS OLD TODAY!

Posted in General by sallybr

We love you to pieces, little girl!

22Mar2026

A DUET OF ST PATRICK’S BAKES

Posted in Breads, Cake by sallybr

If you follow my baby blog, perhaps you’ve noticed I ran out of time to blog about St. Patrick’s cookies? It turns out I also got in trouble right here in the Bewitching Kitchen. Today I share a bread and a batch of cupcakes made in honor of that special holiday. Included in this post, a little cupcake decorating video, that you can find right after the recipe.

Better late than never, let’s start with the bread…

SHAMROCK SOURDOUGH
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

450g bread flour
25g spelt flour
25g dark rye flour
75g sourdough starter (stiff or 100% hydration)
10g salt
360g water
Thai rice flour (or tapioca flour)
shamrock shape cut from edible paper

Mix all ingredients in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead gently for about 4 minutes (first or second speed maximum).

Transfer dough to a lightly oil bowl and do a bulk fermentation with 4 folds made 45 minutes apart. Before you start the fermentation , remove a very small amount of dough to a small glass container (like those that hold spices), and mark where the level of the dough is with a permanent marker. Keep that at room temperature to monitor fermentation.

After the last folding cycle, keep an eye on the fermentation using the small vial. Ideally you want to let the dough ferment until it is double in size. Depending on the day, temperature of your kitchen, it might take 8 hours or more.

Once bulk fermentation is over, shape the dough as a round ball. Place in the fridge overnight.

Next day, freeze the dough for 30 minutes in the banetton, to make it easier to score later. Invert the dough on a paper liner, add the shamrock shape in the center, and flour the region around it (I used Thai rice flour). To make the paper stick, you can spray the surface VERY LIGHTLY with water. Score the perimeter of the shamrock and the outer area of the dough, and place in a Dutch oven.

Close the pan and bake at 450F for 30 minutes, open and allow the bread to brown for a further 15 minutes.

Cool completely over a rack before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I used my Supersonic blade to score the dough, but a sharp razor blade will do, of course. This composition of sourdough, with mostly white flour, but a touch of spelt and rye might very well be my favorite these days.

Moving on, time for cupcakes!

ST PATRICK CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

makes 10 cupcakes

100g all-purpose flour
20g cocoa powder
140g granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
40g unsalted butter
1 large egg
120ml milk
1 + ½ tsp baking powder
buttercream for topping
Mini-golden Oreos painted with gold luster powder + vodka

Heat your oven to 350F and line a muffin tray with cupcake liners.

In a small, bowl, whisk the milk and egg with a fork. Reserve.

Put the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, butter, sugar and salt into the stand mixer
bowl with the paddle attachment. Mix on a medium speed until the butter turns into the consistency of sand.

Pour in half of the milk and egg mixture into the stand mixer bowl with your other
ingredients and mix on a slow speed until it all fully combines and becomes a thick
paste. Pour the remaining milk mixture and mix on low-speed until the batter is smooth.

Fill the lined pan with batter, a little more than halfway full. Bake for 16 minutes, testing with a toothpick. Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.

BASIC BUTTERCREAM FOR CUPCAKES

226g butter, unsalted, softened
452g powdered sugar
pinch of salt
Vanilla extract, about 1 tsp or more to taste
a couple or more tablespoons of milk (to adjust consistency)

Place the softened butter in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer with the paddle attachment, add the pinch of salt, and whip at high speed for about 7 minutes. It needs to be really soft and lighter. Stop the mixer. Eyeball the amount of powdered sugar, add 1/3 and mix at low speed at first, once the sugar is starting to get incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high.

Add the second portion of the sugar, and incorporate the same way. Add the final portion, start at low speed, clean the sides of the bowl well with a spatula, add the vanilla and increase the speed slowly all the way to high. Whip it until very smooth. Add milk to desired consistency. Divide the buttercream in two portions, dye one with light green, one with darker green. Place both portions over a plastic wrap, enclose them as a sausage, drop inside a large piping bag fitted with an open star tip. Decorate the tops of the cupcakes as shown in the video. Add the gold Oreos.

EENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I was pretty happy with the way these cupcakes turned out. It was fun to decorate, and to show the process in more detail, here is a little video for you.

That’s all for now, friends! If you like a little St. Patrick’s trivia, here is a very interesting article for you…

ONE YEAR AGO: Happy Birthday to me!

TWO YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple: Air-Fried Salmon Bites

THREE YEARS AGO: Chocolate-Covered Oreos

FOUR YEARS AGO: Pan-Steamed Broccoli with Miso Vinaigrette

FIVE YEARS AGO: Cookies and Rubber Stamps

SIX YEARS AGO: Macarons for all Seasons and Reasons

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Lentils and Radicchio? Yes, please!

EIGHT YEAR AGO: Tres Leches Cake

NINE YEARS AGO: The Joys of Grating Squash

TEN YEARS AGO: Auberge-Pecan Walnut Bread

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Gluten-free and Vegan Raspberry Bars

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Lasserre, a French Classic

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Sourdough Bread with Walnuts and Dates

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Apricot Glaze

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Pork Tenderloin and Blue Cheese

18Mar2026

“ALFREDO” SAUCE, MADE LIGHTER

Posted in Pasta & Noodles by sallybr

Huge thank you to my daughter-in-law Courtnie, for bringing this recipe to my attention. But first, let’s go over a few issues: the authentic Alfredo sauce, created in Italy back in 1908 by Chef Alfredo di Lelio, has very little to do with the versions made in the USA to this day. The traditional sauce (you can find the recipe here), uses only butter, Parmigiano cheese and pasta cooking water to form a rich emulsion. In the USA, heavy cream, cream cheese, garlic and other items are added, to create an even richer dish, that requires less skill from the cook, as the tricky emulsification step is not needed: things get saucy almost with no effort. If you want to have the real thing, try the original. The version I share with you today is creamy, satisfying, but has a lot less saturated fat (and calories). We loved it so much, it became part of our dinner rotations and you can read the comments after the recipe for different ways we’ve been using it.

LIGHT “ALFREDO” SAUCE
(slightly modified from showmetheyummy)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup vegetable broth
½ cup skim milk
½ cup non-fat greek yogurt room temperature
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano cheese

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Sprinkle with cornstarch and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. While whisking, slowly add in broth and milk. Continue whisking to combine until smooth.

Raise heat to medium high and bring the mixture to a simmer. Keep cooking for about 2 minutes, until it starts to thickened, again, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and little by little, whisk in greek yogurt. Once combined, place back on the heat (medium) and stir in Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Simmer for a final couple of minutes and add to your pasta.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: When this Brazilian sees versions of vegetarian feijoada, she gets really upset, so I hope that Italians and Americans will forgive me messing with such a classic. Truth is, when you need to worry about following a heart-health diet, some adjustments are called for. If you want to indulge without overindulging, this might be the recipe to try!

Apart from pasta sauce, we use it to make “Pizza Bianca”, just a simple pizza dough with this sauce, and some toppings like grilled zucchini, mushrooms, black olives. In the picture above, you see a recent version in which I joined chicken breast and green peas. I have also used it to make eggplant Parmigiana, omitting the tomato sauce. Lastly, we tried it as the bechamel component in a Croque Mosieur type sandwich. Huge success! We are hooked…

ONE YEAR AGO: Cottage Cheese Wrap

TWO YEARS AGO: Nutella Shamrock Macarons

THREE YEARS AGO: Air-Fryer Corn Ribs

FOUR YEARS AGO: Lemony Chicken Thighs with Artichokes and Olives

FIVE YEARS AGO: Farari Bateta

SIX YEARS AGO: Covid-19, Keeping yourself safe

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Carrot Cake Macarons

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Soup Saturday: Say Goodbye to Winter

NINE YEARS AGO: Manchego and Poblano Soup

TEN YEARS AGO: A Smashing Pair

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Crispy Chickpea and Caper Spaghetti